Updates
Field notes from the comeback.
May 2025
The Colfax Theatre is for sale
An Art Deco landmark from 1939 — 125 seats, a glowing marquee and decades of small-town memories — is looking for someone to write its next chapter.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
June 2025
The drive-thru lot at the roundabout
A shovel-ready, drive-thru approved lot near the I-80 ramps — 42,000 vehicles a day and the last full-service stop for 50 miles. We're looking for the franchise that fills it.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
July 2025
Pints & Grooves: why wait for a grant?
Instead of holding our breath for the Levitt AMP funding, we moved ahead — a reimagined Oktoberfest with live regional bands, a craft beer garden and food trucks, October 4 from noon to 6 on South Main Street.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
August 2025
O'Reilly Auto Parts to break ground in Colfax
A 6,890-square-foot store is coming to 781 South Auburn Street, approved by the City Council — a sign of confidence in Colfax's potential for growth.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
August 2025
Colfax Bazaar recap: a big win downtown
More than 1,000 visitors filled the Historic Fruit Exchange Building on August 2 — many had never been to Colfax before, and several left saying they would absolutely return.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
August 2025
Aiming for up to $120K in free concerts
Only 100 cities in the country made it this far. Colfax advanced to the public voting round for the Levitt AMP Music Series Grant — up to $40,000 a year for three years in matching funds.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
August 2025
Help bring free concerts downtown
HCDA and the City of Colfax invited everyone to a public workshop to rally behind the Levitt AMP bid.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
August 2025
Colfax is ready to rock
Top 100 in America for the Levitt AMP grant — and from September 5–15, every vote counted toward $120,000 in matched funding and 7–10 free concerts a summer. Over $500 in Rock the Vote T-shirts sold in days.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
August 2025
5 lessons from Cracker Barrel's logo backlash
When a beloved brand erased its tradition, customers pushed back. What it teaches a historic town about who we are.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
August 2025
Welcome, CoCo's Candy and Creamery
A sweet new chapter at 27 S. Main Street — over 35 flavors of hand-dipped ice cream bars, retro candy wall to wall, and the kind of shop that feels like home.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
August 2025
Congressman Kevin Kiley walks Main Street
HCDA, the Chamber and Mayor Sean Lomen led a walking tour of downtown — starting at the long-vacant Colfax Hotel, empty for over 40 years, where the visit turned federal attention into real possibility.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
September 2025
Rock the Vote: a free concert with big dreams
Saturday, September 6, 4–8 PM at Art Park — one of only three California cities in the Levitt AMP Top 100, playing for $120,000 in matching funds and a national spotlight.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
September 2025
Colfax in the running — your vote counts
Sitting at #27 for the AMP grant and #44 overall, Colfax needed every vote through September 15 to reach the Top 50 — one vote could bring three years of free concerts.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
September 2025
Top 50: how small towns dream big
A town of 2,200 kept pace with cities 100 times our size and became a Levitt AMP Top 50 finalist.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
October 2025
How one grant application sparked a movement
One question at an HCDA meeting — what if our little town became known for live music? — led to the Top 50, Pints & Grooves, and a downtown that came alive.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
October 2025
The 2026 Concert Series is on
Top 50 in the nation, a Rock the Vote show and a community Music Fund — whatever happens with the Levitt grant, the 2026 Colfax Concert Series is officially happening.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
October 2025
A seat at the regional table
Colfax took a seat at Placer Valley 2025 alongside Roseville and Rocklin — listening, connecting and making sure our town helps shape the region's future.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
October 2025
A new fitness hub is coming downtown
Gordan Allen is turning the vacant lot at 159 S. Auburn Street into a 6,890 sq. ft. gym, designed to fit the historic district — a local entrepreneur reinvesting in his own town.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
October 2025
Why Rainbow Music stays: A community shows up
Forty years of music lessons. Generations of Colfax families. A packed council meeting showed why Rainbow Music is more than a business — and why its story matters.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
February 2026
Colfax in the news: SFGate takes notice
"Priced out of Tahoe, young transplants are turning to this foothills town." SFGate featured the Bazaar by name — and our phones started ringing.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
May 2026
Free summer concerts return for 2026
Five free concerts on Historic Main Street, from Wayward Buffalo to Steelhorse Stampede — the season the community built after the grant we didn't win.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
June 2026
Five new businesses open downtown
A nail salon, a craft school, and vintage shops in the Fruit Exchange — none of them recruited. They saw a town coming back and bet on it.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
September 2026
Iron Horse Music Festival announced for October 10
A free, eight-hour celebration of live music on Main Street — with The Rail Benders, Pinkie Rideau, Bob Woods Trio and Achilles Wheel Trio.
Read on historiccolfax.com →
October 2026
Live in Colfax 2026: The finale packed Main Street
Hundreds shoulder to shoulder on South Main Street for the finale — how a town of 2,200 built a free concert series out of a lost grant.
Read on historiccolfax.com →